This invention relates to a portable and retractable book-reading stand for holding books, documents, etc. when working with a word processor or a typewriter, and, more particularly, relates to a portable and retractable book-reading stand able to house all related elements in one package when not in use.
Up to the present, as shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11, there was a book-reading stand 40 laid open as Utility Model No. Heisei 2 (1990)-82927. This book-reading stand 40 is supported with legs, 42, 42 under a plate board 41 and a foldable U-shaped stay 44 attached to the back surface of said plate board 41. A latch plate 43 for supporting said stay 44 is also foldably connected to said plate board 41. Each end of a pair of hook-nosed holders 46, 46 is inserted in a pair of retaining rings 45, 45 fixed to the back surface of said plate board 41 so as being rotatable to the right and left with moderate clearance. The other end of each of said hook-nosed holders 45, 45 is rotatable on the top surface of said plate board 41, and presses down the opened pages of a book 47 placed on said plate board 41. An extensible plate 48 installed on the upper side of said plate board 41 is connected to a slider 49. Said slider 49 is movable up and down in a guide 50 fixed on the rear surface of said plate board 41 and is stably locked in the preferred position with a set screw 51. A clip 52 installed on said extensible plate 48 clamps the document to be read. A large-sized document may be clipped on said extensible plate 48 by extending said plate 48 upwards.
Furthermore, a pair of U-shaped extensible paper-holding wings made of metal bar 53, 53 each having a guide plate 54 are placed on both sides of said plate board 41. Each guide plate 54, 54 is slidably supported with a guide 55, 55 fixed on the rear surface of said plate board 41 so as to be slidable with moderate clearance, then said guide plates 53, 53 are able to be extended horizontally according to the size of the document to be held.
Also, a transparent plastic cursor 56 slidably installed on the right-hand wing 53 with moderate clearance is slidable so as to have a black centre line set on the column of the document to be read.
Referring to this book-reading stand, as above-mentioned, said plate board 41 is built in a fixed size to accommodate a standard-size document, which is not handy for carrying. Accordingly, when used outside of the specifically laid-out working place, it is very hard to do work while reading the document held on a space-limited working desk.
Consequently, this conventional book-reading stand has drawbacks requiring many component parts because of its complex construction, which further incurs high production costs.
In considering the above-mentioned problems, this invention was accomplished to attain the objective of providing a portable and retractable book-reading stand which is handy for carrying saves installation space, and has low production costs.